The Practical Aspect of Dhyan Yoga (Translation of a discourse of Revered Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya)

(Post 16)

(http://literature.awgp.org/akhandjyoti/2003/Nov_Dec/v1.PracticalAspectDhyan_Yoga_II)

We should also love our inner self, our soul.

We have always neglected our soul. We have never experienced its presence. Ages have passed, but we have never heard its voice, or bothered about its aspirations.

An old woman, entirely dependent upon you, keeps asking you to take her to the Himalayas for pilgrimage. You, engrossed in your selfish motives, won’t pay any attention. You might even reply rudely that at this last phase of her life, why to worry about going here and there; she should just lie quietly wherever she is!

It sounds strange, but this is how we have been treating our soul. Our soul is a helpless captive in the smog of our ignorance. If we had loved it and taken proper care of it, it would have become so strong and active that its divine power would have transmuted us into angelic beings.

The Practical Aspect of Dhyan Yoga (Translation of a discourse of Revered Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya)

(Post 15)

(http://literature.awgp.org/akhandjyoti/2003/Nov_Dec/v1.PracticalAspectDhyan_Yoga_II)

Bhakti Yoga included in Dhyan Yoga

Friends! The third kind of light, which I have asked you to focus upon during this dhyan yoga is that of the inner self.

It is the radiance of our intrinsic faith, our devotion, our sincerity, and our compassion, which sparkles all around in the form of pure love. Awakening of this love is the bhakti-yoga.

We strengthen our body by practicing physical exercises, and make use of the vigor thus gained in our routine chores, and in the hard work required for transaction of our duties on multiple fronts.

Similarly, when we begin with the devotion and love for God, the inner force of emotions we acquire through this bhakti (devotion) should also be utilized and expanded.

We should love our gross body; if we love it, we must take good care of it; keep it neat and tidy; discipline it and maintain its health and harmony. This is a reflection of our love, our devotion for God’s creation.

The same way our devotion should also extend towards our mind; we should look after it cautiously. We should not allow it to be disturbed or agitated. It should be kept calm and serene. Thoughts stored in it should be bright and pristine like the glow of the sun.

The Practical Aspect of Dhyan Yoga (Translation of a discourse of Revered Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya)

(Post 14)

(http://literature.awgp.org/akhandjyoti/2003/Nov_Dec/v1.PracticalAspectDhyan_Yoga_II) 

The light of the rising sun you meditate upon should illuminate your inner mind. It should refine your knowledge and focus your thoughts in constructive directions. If this spark of gyan kindles in your mind, I will assume that you have comprehended and assimilated the training of meditation, for which I have guided you in this golden jubilee year of my anusthana sadhana.

If you do not understand and adopt these teachings in practice, your dhyan will only remain a pleasant imagination, and you will gain nothing worthwhile out of such shallow practices. Spirituality is not imagination; it is not a dreamy experience. It is real and experiential. It deals with every aspect of our life; it should be lived in our life today, every day. There is no place for dreams or myths in spirituality. God is not a creation of our dreams or imaginations. His presence should be reflected in all our daily activities.

The Practical Aspect of Dhyan Yoga (Translation of a discourse of Revered Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya)

(Post 13)

(http://literature.awgp.org/akhandjyoti/2003/Nov_Dec/v1.PracticalAspectDhyan_Yoga_II)

People regard me as an eminent thinker. If it is true, it is only because of one thing - I have always focused my thinking faculty in specific directions, towards search for true knowledge. I have controlled my thoughts and imaginations; they never fly randomly. They always move in the self-chosen, sagacious directions. They generate and expand around noble ideals and motives.

My mind knits a vast network of thoughts but never leaves the firm base of reality and reasoning. I have blocked the entry of unnecessary, delusive or irrational thoughts. Casual thinking or uncontrolled imaginations do not have any place in my mind.

Friends, in the practice of  gyan-yoga, we must inculcate the insight and courage to eliminate and prevent the base elements that keep intruding in our minds. Instead, if we adopt the kind of thinking that is positive, sane and noble, and nurture it firmly in our mental field, our mind could become a grand reservoir of knowledge. Precious pearls of deep knowledge, ideas and inspirations would then be discovered in its inner recesses. Like the Ganga emerging from the head of Lord Shiva, a spring of pure knowledge could gush out of our minds by the practice of gyan-yoga.

Calmness and stability would then remain firm in our mind like the holy moon on the forehead of Lord Shiva. Our sixth sense, the extra-sensory center of divine prudence, would be activated like the opening of the Third Eye of Lord Shiva. This is the sadhana of gyan-yoga.

The Practical Aspect of Dhyan Yoga (Translation of a discourse of Revered Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya)

(Post 12)

(http://literature.awgp.org/akhandjyoti/2003/Nov_Dec/v1.PracticalAspectDhyan_Yoga_II)

(Translation of the original discourse in Hindi given during a Sadhana Camp in 1976)

The second part of this dhyan yoga involves meditating upon the light spot (of rising Sun) in the center of your brain. The infusion of this light in your brain, in your mind, should inspire you to become a gyan yogi.

The first sign of this progress is that there should be nothing negative or illusive in your mind, your thoughts should be positive and constructive. In general, the human mind is flooded by strong currents of pell-mell thoughts and imaginations; the bedlam of passions and impulses keeps hovering around it, like the fleas and mosquitoes around a drain. Sometimes your mind is boiling in anger, sometimes erotic thoughts perturb it, some moments you are thinking of a movie, soon you may begin to plan for the purchase of a lottery-ticket, and dream about what you will do with the wealth gained thereby and what not!

This way you keep recklessly wasting your mental energy in useless, purposeless and haphazard imaginations and thoughts.

If you were alert and had focused your mind on constructive or analytical thinking, and given a focused direction to your thoughts, you would have delved deeper in your selected field of knowledge; some of you would have become a Voltaire by now! If you had dived deeper in your psyche and given creative, enlightened direction to your imaginations, you might have been another Ravindranath Tagore.

The Practical Aspect of Dhyan Yoga (Translation of a discourse of Revered Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya)

(Post 11)

(http://literature.awgp.org/akhandjyoti/2003/Sept_Oct/PracticalAspectDhyanYoga/) 

Try running a night school and teach the children of others.

My friends! When the light, which you meditate upon, will flow in your body as energy and alacrity, you should work like a karma-yogi; apply the best of your efforts and hard work towards transaction of your duties as a good human being, towards noble aims till the last breath.

We are all bound by our duties towards the society and nation; we should bear these responsibilities gracefully. If you adopt this attitude and transmit it into your deeds, I will regard you as a karma-yogi; then I will be happy that you have grasped the true meaning of meditation and have truly learnt to practice the dhyan yoga as I have taught you.

The Practical Aspect of Dhyan Yoga (Translation of a discourse of Revered Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya)

(Post 10)

(http://literature.awgp.org/akhandjyoti/2003/Sept_Oct/PracticalAspectDhyanYoga/)

You may find great joy in sitting and relaxing at home  doing just nothing, when your son is grown up and he is earning for the family. But this is a sign of lethargy; slothful luxury is worse than dishonesty. It is the worst abuse of our humanhood. Insincerity to work and sluggishness are the most disgusting blots on the dignity of mankind.

You may argue - "but I have worked so many years and now I am getting pension after retirement."

No my child! I, as your guide, will not like you to sit idly and make merriment. Till you are alive (and able to move your body), you must do some work.

You may have enough resources for yourself and your family, but there are others in the society, who have nothing; so you should work to give something to these others.

Your children have studied and are well settled, but there are many youngsters who are not able to go to school. So rise up from your narrow mindedness and lethargy.